Back at the Dragon's Castle Courtyard, Ena and Kurthnaga were sitting in front of the fountain. It wasn't often they found the time to be alone, nor did they get along that often for a friendly chat. "So Ena, tell me…" Kurthnaga began while glancing towards his younger sister. "Why Fairy Tail? When we were told to gather the strongest warriors from Fiore, why did you choose the third…er, second strongest guild?"

"Ah…" Ena knew this question was coming sooner or later. "I suppose my choice was a little strange strength-wise…but I have a simple reason. I've heard of Fairy Tail's exploits in the past, and I've seen some from watching the human world. The bonds everyone in the guild share is something else. I mean…did you see Wendy and Cynthia? I felt an unshakable bond between those two little girls…Perhaps a little more…" Shaking her head, Ena merely let out a sigh.

"See…that's all well and all…" Kurthnaga chuckled. "But don't act like Fairy Tail is the only guild that cares about its family like that. White Eclipse is the same way you know. They are the strongest, so I believed they would be the best ones to help us. I thought it only natural."

"I'm not a fan of their attitude…" Ena said while puffing her cheeks out childishly, blowing a strand of her pink hair from her face. "Especially that Reve, he's far too cocky for his own good."

Kurthnaga could only chuckle at Ena's words. "Well if we're going to talk about undesirable attitudes…what about that Mii character? I'm certain she doesn't belong to Fairy Tail, so just what are you doing picking up random strangers off the street?"

"Ah…Mii…" It appeared as though Ena had been thinking about the female as well. "You know, I normally wouldn't have done such a thing, but something about that female…"

"Yes…?" Kurthnaga was trying to urge Ena to go on.

"Kurthnaga, do you remember when we were younger? You know, about 200 years ago?"

"200?" They were revealing their ages now. Kurthnaga paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah…that's around the time we snuck into the Chamber of Fate to read the scroll, right…?"

"Mhm…" Ena nodded, having a brief flashback to when Kurthnaga and herself were younger. The two dragons snuck into the secret chamber of the castle to view the Scroll of Fate, which had the entire lifespan of the island written on it. The two were curious to know of events years from then, even though Dhegensea forbade them from stepping foot in that room. "I know we didn't get very far, but I did see something about a female looking exactly like Ms. Koryuji…right next to the impeding civil war…I don't know what it means exactly, but I believe she may be the one who is tied to this islands fate. She just might be the Chosen…"

"WHAT?!" Kurthnaga's eyes widened. "Are you sure about that? There's no way the Island's Chosen could be that girl. That would make her a descendant of the Hero, Yggdrasil! We all know she would be more serious than she is now. She takes nothing seriously, and she flirts with everyone around, jokingly or not…I refuse to accept it…..and yet…."

"Exactly," Ena nodded. "It doesn't seem likely due to her attitude…but the possibility is still there. She may be the one who controls the fate of this entire island…I wonder what is was that.

"Should we tell Father?" Kurthnaga was quick to ask.

"No…" Ena responded. "If it's true…then Father should already know. But…it's odd that he didn't acknowledge her…likely because of her attitude…or maybe he's just waiting to reveal the information…?" This was the backlash of their partial knowledge the future; before it came to pass, the information became jumbled up and confusing to those who knew. "I just don't know…but we have to keep an eye on the female for now. It's a good thing Fairy Tail is keeping an eye on her as well, but likely not for the same reasons…"

"Right…" Kurthnaga agreed. "I think we should also keep an eye on Nasir…I know he's Father's right hand man, but the fact he attacked both our ships on the way here is a little off to me…I know he's the protector of the sky's but something is still off…"

"I agree…I trust Nasir completely, but his actions as of late have been off for him…" Ena sighed, clasping her hands together. "I hope this war can be over soon…everyone's on edge when they just want to live a peaceful live…no one wants to go to war, I don't understand why this is happening…"

"We can only hope Fairy Tail and White Eclipse together can bring an end to this…" Kurthnaga sighed as well.

"You won't need to worry about Fairy Tail…" Reve said as he suddenly intruded on the end of their conversation. "Sorry to intrude, Prince and Princess, but I was wondering if you could spare this courtyard for a little bit."

"Did you need a place to train, Reve?" Ena questioned, not at all startled by the gunslingers sudden appearance.

"Not quite," Reve began. "Fairy Tail and White Eclipse are throwing down. First to three. The guild that loses is leaving the island, and swallowing some pride."

"EH!?" Ena's eyes widened at Reve's news.

"Oh, wow…I did not expect this…" Kurthnaga admitted, but he was laughing the entire time. "This is something else, hahaha!"

"Why are the chosen warriors fighting against one another…" Ena let out an incredibly heavy sigh.

"There's not enough room for us both on the island, especially with their indecisiveness." Reve responded with a wave. "We've already decided, now it's just time to take out the weakest link. We gave them an hour to prepare."

"Ah…" Ena sighed, rubbing her temples. "What a predicament this has become…"

"I'll set things up for you, don't worry about it Reve." Kurthnaga patted Ena on the back. "Don't worry about it either, no need to stress either. "Bring everyone here in about an hour and I should have everything ready."

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An hour passed, and it was time for Fairy Tail and White Eclipse to thrown down once again. The courtyard was split into two sides, one for Fairy Tail and the other for White Eclipse; in the middle was enough room for any kind of fight to happen. "Whew…" Kurthnaga wiped away some sweat from his forehead. "That was some heavy work, but I think I got it all down."

"I still can't believe they're going to fight each other…" Ena sighed while rubbing her temples. "This is ridiculous, they should be working together!"

"Sadly I don't think they believe in teamwork today…" It was Erza who spoke, leading Fairy Tail into the Courtyard with a serious look on her face. "But it matters not, for we will bring them down off their pedestal today."

"Big words…" Now it was Reve who led White Eclipse in, his cocky grin more present than ever. "For such a small guild…"

"I'm tired of you bastards looking down on us!" Natsu said while clenching a fist. "We're taking you down today!"

"Yeah!" Lucy nodded in agreement, bringing a hand up before turning it into a fist. "Today is the day you swallow your pride!"

"Now, now…let's not get so hasty…" Luke commented with a smug grin. "Wouldn't want you to hurt yourselves before we took you down!"

"I want to fight." Lucy said with a firm nod. "I'm feeling a lot better, and I want to show them my new tricks!"

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that, Lucy." Makarov shook his head. "The guild doctor would have your head if she heard you were fighting so soon after your incident."

"Ah..." Lucy could not argue with that. The fact she had permission to even come along was a miracle in and of itself. Pushing it any further meant she would have nightmares of a broom for years to come.

.

[Flashback]

Lucy was rushed to the infirmary after collapsing in front of the guild hall. Porlyuisca was called and examining her injuries. Makarov told everyone to wait outside of the infirmary after Wendy finished healing her. "Is she alright?" Makarov asked pensively.

It took a few more moments of examination, but eventually the guild doctor was able to nod. "The short and long answer are yes."

"But?" Makarov looked towards the woman, arms crossed.

"Her external injuries could have been fatal. Wendy's healing was able to completely fix them, however." Porlyuisca replied. "How Lucy made it back in her condition is nothing short of a miracle, assuming she walked all the way back, that is. Her internal injuries weren't great either, but Wendy fixed those as well. Physically speaking, Lucy appears to be fine. But there is one thing that caught my attention."

"What is it?" Makarov asked.

"...Her heartbeat is off." She explained, keeping an eye on the unconscious Lucy. "It's irregular."

Makarov did not like the sound of this oddity. "Irregular...?"

"Yes. Everything else about her is fine, but her heartbeat is slightly off. The adrenaline has surely flushed out of her body by now. I can't entirely pinpoint what's wrong, and it may return to normal after she awakens." The doctor said calmly. "But for the time being, I completely forbid her from taking part in any conflict for a little while, until her heartbeat calms down. Too much excitement could provoke something life threatening."

Those were the doctor's orders, and Makarov completely trusted her diagnosis. "Of course."

[End flashback.]

.

"Wow, the tension sure is thick…" Ena silently remarked before clearing her throat. "A-Anyway…We've heard the rules…first to three. The first guild to reach three victories will win! So, will the first two step up to do battle?" Ena then scurried out of the way as the first to combatants made their way into the arena: Laxus and Waiston.

"Alright, alright. Let's get this over with." Laxus said calmly, arms crossed as he stepped forward.

"Oh ho!" Waiston rotated his arms. "I get big bad Laxus, huh?! Completely missed you during our guild fight, and the Grand Magic Games! But this time? Oh, this time, I got you!"

"Laxus! Crush him!" Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed shouted all at once.

"Show him who's boss!" Takeru, Kuro, and Selene exclaimed in turn.

Waiston just faced Laxus with a grin. "I can't wait to take you down! You know the tradition, don't you? Weaker opponent makes the first move!"

Laxus scoffed. He wasn't budging an inch. "Yeah? So get on with it."

"Funny guy, aren't you!?" Waiston had a wide grin on his face. He rushed towards Laxus, ice covering his fist as he went straight for the attack. "Ice Dragon's Impact!"

Laxus raised his hand, lightning sparking around it. Just as Waiston came in for his punch, Laxus brought his hand down for a brutal chop to the top of Waiston's head, crushing him into the ground in a heartbeat. All eyes were wide as Waiston laid there in utter defeat. "That's one."

"..." White Eclipse sure was silent after that.

"Yeah! That's Laxus for you!" Freed said with a smug grin. "Did you honestly expect a different outcome? Hah!"

"I expected nothing less from Laxus." Makarov said with a prideful grin.

"Sheesh..." Draco rubbed the back of his neck.

"...Now I wanna fight him..." Leon said with an excited grin.

Laxus turned and made his way back to Fairy Tail's side. "That's for wasting our time."

"Wow...okay." Even Kurthnaga was surprised by this. Fairy Tail was stronger than he expected. Aira went off to drag Waiston off and heal him. The ice dragon was going to be very embarrassed when he came to. "Well then! Who will be up next!?" For that, it was Luke and Gray.

"Well, well…" Luke let out a slight scoff at the sight of his opponent. "This is an interesting development, Fullbuster. I heard you had some new tricks up your sleeves, I hope you'll use them. Otherwise you won't be getting very far, you hear?"

"Take him out Gray!" Lucy exclaimed with vigor. A part of her just really wanted to see Luke get thrashed. They were friends now, but things like this brought out that side of her.

"Juvia believes in you, Gray-sama!" Juvia exclaimed while waving her arm around. All of her support went towards Gray.

"You know the White Eclipse tradition by now…" Luke said while waving a hand.

"Yeah, so why are you still standing there?" Gray responded with a smug grin of his own, entering his Ice Maker stance. After what Laxus just did to Waiston, Gray was feeling himself quite a bit. "We don't have all day, you know…"

"Cute…" Luke could only shake his head at Gray's turnaround on the rules. It was always humorous when the tradition was reversed by someone else. "Fine then…" Luke grinned before placing his foot firmly on the ground. "I hope you're ready." With that Luke darted from his position; he was fast and Gray almost had a hard time keeping up. Before Gray could react, Luke landed a fiery punch to the ice maker's cheek, causing Gray to stumble back a step.

"Is that it?" Gray said while brushing off the hit like it was nothing even though it did leave a burn mark on his cheek. "Natsu's flames are way stronger than your weak copy…" Gray then slammed his fist into his palm, a chilling wind surrounding his ankles. "Ice Make: Lance!" Throwing his arms forward, a plethora of frozen lances launched out, aiming to converge on Luke from all angles.

"Just getting…warmed up…" Luke had to make a pun, even in the middle of a battle. Arms crossed, he took the brunt of the ice lances while sliding back across the grassy plain. A soft grunt of pain escaped him before shaking it all off. "That was a nice chill…" Luke mirrored Gray, preforming the same ice make stance. "Let me have a try at it. Ice Make: Thunder Lance!" Fusing ice and lightning together, Luke threw his arms forward to release sparking lances towards Gray that rapidly approached him.

"Tch!" Arms spread apart, a shield of ice immediately appearing in front of the ice maker. "Ice Make: Shield!" Gray could only hope the shield was enough to protect against the incoming dual lances. It did hold up for some time but eventually shattered, the remaining lances slamming into Gray, who let out a grunt of pain while tumbling backwards.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia shouted worriedly.

"Show him what you got, Luke!" Waiston grinned at Luke's early advantage.

"My, my…" Mii finally returned, sliding in next to Lucy and Juvia with a seemingly interested expression. "Those two are pretty strong, I like how things are starting off already!"

"And just where did you go?" Lucy briefly turned her attention from the fight to glance at Mii. It seemed that a few others were wondering about her whereabouts as well. "You were gone for a little bit of time…"

"I was just seeing the sights…" Mii responded while placing her hands in her lap. "I almost forgot this little quarrel was happening, and I'm glad I remembered! Who are the other two people you guys have chosen!?" It has hard to deny that she seemed genuinely interested.

"Ah…well…" Lucy placed her index finger on her chin. "We have Gray right now…Natsu really wanted to go, and then there's Erza and Mira!"

"Ah, what the line up! I'm interested to see how this goes…" Mii crossed her legs, hands resting upon her knee.

"You're still annoying as before…" Gray said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I'm glad you think so…" Luke said with a slight smirk before snapping his fingers; the crafty copy mage created a yellow magic seal underneath Gray's feet, which unleashed a powerful discharge of electricity that caught Gray off guard.

"Gah!" Gray let out a small strangled cry at the lightning. Before he could full recover, Luke dashed in with darkness surrounding his fist.

"Darkness…Crash!" Throwing his fist forward, Luke made direct contact with Gray's chest. The darkness around his fist exploded violently, the extra impact sending Gray flying, tumbling along the field before coming to a stop, steam coming from his body.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia exclaimed in worry, nearly leaping out of her seat to see if Gray was alright. Thanks to Mira she was being held down.

"Gray will be fine, Juvia…" Mirajane reassured.

"Not bad, Luke." Cygnus nodded from the stands.

"That one looked like it hurt…" Ena whispered to Kurthnaga.

"No kidding…" Kurthnaga nodded. From the balcony overviewing the Courtyard, Dhegensea and Nasir were watching the Fairy Tail vs. White Eclipse bout, remaining silent during the whole ordeal.

"Ah…" Gray eventually stood up, body covered in bruises and burn marks. Shaking it all off, he gripped his long sleeved shirt before throwing it off, revealing that Devil Slaying tattoo mark along his arm. "New tricks for old foe; you won't be beating me, Luke." A violet glow surrounded the ice maker's body while his hair spiked up slightly. "Ice Devil's…" In one swift movement, Gray sprinted forward created two large blades of ice within both hands. "Bringer!" Infusing his Ice Make with his Devil Slaying allowed Gray to create powerful static creations. With an X crossed slash, he slipped past Luke while sliding to a halt.

"Ugh…!" Luke grunted, arms crossed to take the brunt of the blow. He then grinned, a black and white aura suddenly surrounding his body just after the blow. "White God's Shield…and Black God's Sword. Since we're stepping things up a notch…" Inhaling, black and white began to swirl around the copy cat's lips as his cheeks puffed out. "Bellow…of the Black and White God!" From his mouth, a gigantic vortex of black and white god slaying magic rushed towards Gray, who wasn't too far away.

"..!" A sharp surprised gasp escaped the ice maker. Turning quickly, arms spread apart to create an enormous wall of ice before him. "Ice Make: Rampart!" The dual bellow collided against Gray's wall of ice which began showing signs of weakness quickly, cracking from the force of the bellow. Before Gray knew it, it shattered like glass and he took the blow full force, skidding across the field with some blood spilling from open wounds. "Tch…" With a grunt of annoyance, he quickly put himself back on the offensive. Slamming his fist in his palm, a blue magic seal formed over Luke. "Ice Make: Impact!"

"Wha..!?" Luke looked up, noticing the giant mallet just before it crushed him instantly after impact. Luckily for Luke, he reacted in time by bringing up his Black God's Bubble; the dense black bubble was strong enough to survive the crushing impact before it shattered. Though the brunette didn't have any time to react afterwards; Gray was already on him with blades of ice extending from his arm and opposing arm's elbow. Seven swift slashes were delivered along Luke's body before the finale sent the copy mage soaring until he hit the ground on his back.

"GO GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia cheered at the top of her lungs, arms flailing around overdramatically.

"That ice maker is pretty tough…" Mii commented with a nod of approval.

"…" Reve was silent, eying Luke for a few seconds before a small, barely noticeable grin crossed his lips.

Luke's palm was touching the ground; a black and white magic seal formed in the sky as a result. "Divine…Spear…" Luke whispered just under his breath. From the sky, a spear of black and white shattered the sound barrier and crashed onto Gray, catching everyone by surprise as the explosion blinded everyone.

"W-What the…!?" Natsu covered his eyes from the blinding light and the wind it kicked up.

"Gray!?" Everyone called out worriedly. When the smoke cleared, Gray was face down on the ground, knocked unconscious from the blow.

"Ow…" Luke groaned while standing up, wincing from the heavy blows Gray managed to land. "Geez, that kinda hurt…" Smirking towards Fairy Tail, he only shrugged before limping back to the White Eclipse side.

"Gray-sama…!" Leaping from the stands, Juvia hurried over to Gray's side.

"Whoa, who saw that coming…!?" Kurthnaga was really into it already.

"Very impressive…" Ena had to admit.

"Oh wow…." Mii was genuinely surprised at the result of that battle.

"It's only to be expected…you're fighting the best of the best, after all." Reve said with a laugh. Waiston's loss was unfortunate, but it wasn't enough to crush the White Eclipse spirit. "Who wants to lose next?"

It was then, that Mirajane Strauss stepped forward, placing her hand on her cheek with a smile. "You're welcome to try me, White Eclipse."

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Next Time: It Never Ends, Continued.